Most of these guys are absolutely terrible! Wouldn't know a strike if it bit 'em in the butt.And the calls on the bases? I'd swear they are recruiting these guys right out of high school.And did you notice that in a 3 game series, the crew chief always takes 3B in game one, so he doesn't have to work behind the plate?In my 50+ years of following baseball, I can't recall umpiring this bad.

Close calls are tough to make with the naked eye. We have the advantage of multiple replays from different angles and different cameras plus slow motion.

As for balls and strikes, I tend to agree that they usually have a tough time seeing the outside corner because they all "set up" over the inside corner. Plus gauging low pitches is hard because their eyes are about even with the top of the strike zone. The players simply have to adjust to what he is calling.

Close calls are tough to make with the naked eye. We have the advantage of multiple replays from different angles and different cameras plus slow motion. As for balls and strikes, I tend to agree that they usually have a tough time seeing the outside corner because they all "set up" over the inside corner. Plus gauging low pitches is hard because their eyes are about even with the top of the strike zone. The players simply have to adjust to what he is calling. Posted by M1A2

From your reply M1A2, you should be using my moniker.I realize the calls will usually even out but I'd rather they get it right than have an excuse for winning or losing.That call at 2B on Izturis was horrible, and I'm sorry, but Weaver had Varitek rung up on that pitch, and the umpire was set up right over it. Olivo was clearly safe the other night at 1B when Youk threw late.There are just too many blown calls, and too many rookie umpires.It seems to have gone downhill when we lost most of the good umpires during that disputed strike many years ago.

Something about Sox/Angels brings out the worst in umps ... they really were off last series and last night too. I suppose it is because the teams play each other very aggressively. More opportunities for close plays. But the balls & strikes have been all over the place. It is Ok if an ump lets you know he will call a certain location a ball or strike all night ... but inconsistent calls at crucial moments of a game have really stuck out.

Though there wasn't instant replay or the intense video scrutiny of players and umpires we have today. Still, there are fabled tales of the questionable umpiring of yore, like Yogi Berra's claim to this day that Jackie Robinson was out at home in the first game of the 1955 World Series.

Fifty years ago was 1961. How many games were on TV per week. Wasn't it just Saturday afternoon baseball, Dizzy Dean ??Posted by JamaicaPlain67

I grew up in LA and the only games I can remember televised were when the Dodgers were in SF.However, I went to a boatload of games at Chavez Ravine, and actually, the Coliseum before that.Yes, I'm an old guy, 58 this month, but I have also been an umpire for many years and I know bad calls (and bad positioning for that matter) when I see them.

Did you hear Eck during the game tell you that managers have a terrible view of the strike from within the dugout and that they rely on a secret signal from the catcher on a close call to go into their storming out of the dugout routine. After that comment, a NESN camera showed the poor view of the plate from the dugout.

It will not be long before technology is used to call balls and strikes. With the cameras and computer technology we have today there is no reason to have humans do this. And no I do not believe that human randomness is part of umpiring a game. It's part of playing the game but rules should be enforced as close to perfect as possible.

So far this season,there's been a LOT of horrible calls during the Red Sox and other games.I understand that Umpires are human and make mistakes but this season is the worst overall performance by umpires that I've ever seen.

mlgvt, you could be right. I'm a traditionalist and so is the Commish, but tennis already uses technology for backup. Maybe the homeplate umpire, relieved from calling balls and strikes, can enforce some of the speed-up rules. Here's my rule: any batter can step out of the batter's box at any time for as long as he wants. However, the pitcher can also pitch the ball at any time. Batter, beware.

I have to wonder how MLB trains these guys. Given the availability of this new/old technology that shows where the pitch went, why don't they use it to provide them feedback? They should certainly do that during spring training, but also do it anytime a pitcher is throwing for practice. Practice plus feedback will improve their calls.

I am actually quite amazed how often the umpires get things right. Some good percentage of the time the "proof" that they may have missed the call is a so-so angle from a super telephoto lens that is compressing the depth of field. Every once in awhile they just miss one. It doesn't faze me too much.

Balls and strikes are a different topic and nothing I hate more than an umpire that is inconsistent over the course of a game. But if an umpire is seeing the zone slightly low, high or is generous on the corners through out the game and for both sides it does not bother me.

They are human and imperfect but I think by far they are the best in North American team sports.